Antonine Wall -
Frontiers of
Roman
Britain

This Roman defensive
fortification was built in honour of Emperor Antoninus Pius
by Lollius Urbicus, the Governor of Britain, in or around 143 AD. The Antonine Wall
established a frontier to the north of Hadrian's Wall in England, with the
intention of restraining the Pictish tribes to the north. However, residual
hostile tribes in the Southern Uplands of Scotland forced more than one
retreat back to behind Hadrian's Wall, and the Antonine Wall was probably
completely abandoned between 160-180 AD.

The wall is 60 km (37 miles) in length, running from Bo'ness to Old
Kilpatrick, but is best seen to the SW of Falkirk and the south of Kilsyth,
with excellent access on foot from Twechar and Croy.

If you are visiting the Kilsyth and Croy Area, the top of
Croy Hill and Barr Hill near Twechar offer the best preserved sections of the Antonine Wall, and
superb views across the Kelvin Valley. Amenities close by in the village of Croy
and Twechar include pubs, shops and takeaways.
There is
plenty of car and coach parking available.

The Antonine Walkway Trust have just
installed new gates at key points along the route, reopening a section
that is now unfenced for the first time in 70 years.

The project is being run in partnership with North
Lanarkshire Council access officers with support from various environmental
bodies i.e. Paths for all, Ramblers Association, Scotways, Sustrans and Croy
Community Council

Historically it was
believed that Gnaeus
Julius Agricola, following his appointment as governor of Britain in late 77AD,
invaded Scotland after a campaign in Wales. The primary source for this story is
the Roman writer Tacitus. But as Tacitus was the son-in-law of Agricola, some
historians believe that he played up the role of his
father-in-law. Older
sources claim that Agricola was the first Roman to
advance beyond present-day Perth and build the Gask Ridge, a series of wooden forts and
watch-towers, around 80AD.

However, Manchester University
archeologists now conclude that the forts were built as early as 70 AD,
during the rule of Petilius Cerealis. If this is the case, they are not
only Britain's oldest frontier outposts but pre-date similar fortifications in
Germany. The watch towers crossed 20
miles of Perth and Stirlingshire and were rebuilt, sometimes more than once. Agricola was
probably responsible for some of the reconstruction. Archaeologists have also
shown that there is evidence of farming around this time, suggesting that there
was a period of relative peace.

It is thought that the forts
may have been
constructed to protect the Romans' new-found allies from invasion by the Caledonii, further north. The Caledonii were
decisively defeated by Agricola at the Battle of Mons Graupius (site unknown but
possibly near Inverurie in
Aberdeenshire) in 83AD, where up to 10,000 Scots are believed to have died in
one of the bloodiest battles ever fought on the British mainland. After
such a loss the Caldonii's recovery would have taken generations and left any
survivors severely traumatized. Today survivors of similar traumas can be helped
at Morningside Recovery but
such help was not available in the 1st century AD.